President Biden Signs Omnibus Spending Bill, Elevating Many OME Priorities
Published January 09, 2023
Advocacy Appropriations Federal Policy Financial Aid Healthcare Workforce Mental Health & Wellness OME Advocate Rural Medicine Veterans Affairs
- On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L 117-328, which acknowledged the need for osteopathic manipulative treatment to address veteran pain, the benefit of osteopathic research at the NIH and the urgency to add 200 new specialty residency slots to address workforce shortages in behavioral and mental health.
- These victories were the culmination of months of coordinated advocacy.
- AACOM also advocated for the increases in funding for many priority healthcare agencies and programs, including:
- $47.5 billion, a 5.6 percent increase, for the NIH
- $579.3 million, a 10.5 percent increase, for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII Health Professions Programs
- $125.6 million, a 3.3 percent increase, for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC)
- The spending bill also provided historic advanced funding of $5.1 billion for the Indian Health Service (IHS) in fiscal year (FY) 2024. AACOM advocated for this important budget tool because the IHS receives most of its funding through annual appropriations, and prolonged delays in enacting spending bills can upend the delivery of healthcare services to 2.5 million Native Americans. The bill also includes:
- Rural Demonstration Program – $10 million within NHSC to conduct a pilot program to evaluate the benefit to patient access and practitioner recruitment and retention of extending loan repayment for five years and $200,000 for providers serving in a rural Health Professional Service Area.
- Rural Health Residency Program – $12.7 million to fund physician residency training programs that support physician workforce expansion in rural areas.
- Student Financial Assistance – $24.6 billion for federal student aid programs, including $1.2 billion for Federal Work Study, an increase of $20 million above the FY22 enacted level.
- Improving the Quality of Life in Tinnitus Management by Veterans – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is encouraged to work with academic partners, as appropriate, to address and improve the outcomes for veterans experiencing problematic tinnitus. VA is encouraged to consider academic institution factors such as proximity to operational military bases, the presence of Nurse Practitioner/Doctor of Nursing Practice/Doctorate programs and the presence of Osteopathic Medicine and Engineering programs.
- Medical School Affiliations – The Committee encourages the Veterans Health Administration and the Office of Academic Affiliations to further align academic partnerships with training opportunities and patient needs of veterans in surrounding communities.
- Indian Health Professions – $80.5 million for Indian health professions, which includes an additional $5 million for the loan repayment program.
- For a more comprehensive breakdown and analysis of the spending bill, see AACOM’s summary.